What’s This About a Controversy Surrounding the Annual White House Easter Egg Roll?

Yesterday, The New York Times reported that questions had arisen as to whether or not one of the biggest events on the White House’s social calendar—the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn—would happen at all this year. And if, given the late-in-the-game planning that appeared to be happening at the White House, it could go off without a hitch.

It all started back in February, when Wells Wood Turning & Finishing tweeted: “FYI manufacturing deadlines for the Easter eggs are near. Please reach out!” This urgent message was directed at President Trump, the First Lady, and now assistant to the president and First Daughter Ivanka Trump. This wasn’t a drill—the company that creates the commemorative wooden eggs every year was running up against manufacturing deadlines and had yet to hear from the White House as to whether or not it would be putting in its usual order for the eggs that have always been given out as party favors at the event. This all may sound trivial—especially when there are very real, very serious crises to contend with on the world stage right now—but remember that the Easter Egg Roll is a 138-year-old celebration and a beloved, long-standing American tradition that has drawn as many as 35,000 people to the South Lawn in past years.

By now, most know that Mrs. Trump, who is based in Manhattan and has yet to move into the White House since she became First Lady, has been slow to hire for some crucial East Wing positions. In early February, she named Lindsay Reynolds as her chief of staff and Anna Cristina Niceta Lloyd, who goes by Rickie, as her social secretary, but she has yet to bring on a director for the Visitors Office—and this person usually plays a crucial role in the execution of this event. Some chalk the slow play up to a First Lady who only wants the best and is taking the time to put together the perfect team, while others say she doesn’t want to do the job and is simply dragging her feet.

Either way, in early March, the White House finally announced the Roll was on for Monday, April 17, and put in a rush order with Wells Wood Turning & Finishing for 40,000 of the commemorative eggs, a little less than half of what was ordered the year before. In total, 18,000 will be given away and 22,000 will be available for sale on the premises.

The event this year appears to be smaller than in years past. Twenty thousand guests are expected to attend, whereas around 37,000 people were there in 2016. (Here’s hoping there isn’t a photo analysis and disagreements on crowd size afterward à la the inauguration.) The festivities will be staffed by 500 volunteers—which is also about half the number as last year. Whether or not press secretary Sean Spicer will try to change the conversation from what was universally deemed a debacle of a press briefing earlier this week by appearing in a bunny suit for the event—he donned the costume a decade ago when he was an aide in the Office of the United States Trade Representative—remains unclear.

Washington-area public schools normally are given blocks of as many as 4,000 tickets so local children can attend, but they had yet to hear from the White House as of yesterday. The same goes for military families. Groups who represent them said that they previously accounted for at least 3,000 of the guests in attendance, but also said they had yet to be contacted. Curious George and Elmo were similarly left in the dark until late last month, when the White House finally reached out to see if PBS Kids could provide costumed characters—just four days prior to making the call the Trump administration had proposed ending all funding for PBS and The Sesame Street program. Typically, the grounds are crowded with mingling cast members from the popular children’s show. This year, one character will attend as a representative.

For now, all we can do is wait and see what happens. Some historians and former White House staffers have gone as far as to say that whether or not an administration can pull off a high-profile event of this magnitude is indicative of the overall competency of the team in place. For that reason alone, all eyes should be on the South Lawn on Monday.